


three years later

by planetundersiege



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Before they actually are, Best Friends, Collaboration, Denial of Feelings, Digital Art, Elf Discrimination, Elf/Human Relationship(s), Eventual Happy Ending, Everyone Thinks They're Together, Ezran ships it, F/M, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Idiots in Love, Illustrated, Katolis (The Dragon Prince), Misunderstandings, Post-Canon, Rayla moves to Katolis, Rayllum, Rayllum Big Bang, Reunions, Slice of Life, The dragon prince - Freeform, Time Skips, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000, but it gets resolved, for now, royal duties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22546012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetundersiege/pseuds/planetundersiege
Summary: It's been three years since Xadia and the human kingdoms have made peace with each other.Rayla is back in Katolis after a seven month long trip to Xadia, and is now moving into the castle permanently.At first, nothing could be better between Callum and Rayla, but as time progresses, they begin to wonder, are they actually more than just friends?And on top of that, the elf hate in Katolis doesn't make things any better.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 266
Collections: The Dragon Prince





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my piece for the Rayllum Big Bang, and I'm so excited to finally be able to show it to you! This took months to make, and I'm really proud of how it turned out.
> 
> I'll be posting one chapter a day for five days.
> 
> All illustration in this work is made by the amazing byghostface (social media linked at the bottom) who was a joy to collaborate with.
> 
> Enjoy

He never realized how much she had missed her until the moment he saw her once more, now under the gaze of the bright blue sky of Katolis. Her white hair, her light skin, cute pointy ears and large horns, and lilac eyes, all of those features got Callum’s attention as he saw Rayla on the top of her horse, sword on her hip, a huge bag on her back, and a smile on her face. As she rode over the bright green meadow with flowers in shades of crimson, gold and cerise, she had that confident look on her face. It was like she was coming home.

And in many ways, she was.

The young mage, almost eighteen years old, now a master of all six primal sources immediately held up his hand and waved like his life depended on it, so happy to once again see his close friend. He had waited for her return for over seven months, as she had returned to Xadia to truly reconnect with the now healed Runaan, as well as Ethari after these few intense years of war, peace, and treaties. At the same time, she was also saying goodbye to the village she grew up in, Silvergrove, along with its surroundings. She was from this day onwards, a permanent resident at the royal castle of Katolis by the wish of King Ezran as an ambassador. Of course waiting for her return had been hard, but Callum knew that moving from Xadia to Katolis must be hard, and understood why Rayla had wanted such a long time back there to prepare. He would probably do the same, and, the long wait had its perks. He never thought he could be so happy to see her again, his best friends for all those years.

Callum heard how Ezran, now 13, let out a giggle, while giving his brother a funny look. He was holding Bait in his arms, the glow toad looking as grumpy as ever.

“You missed her that much? You’re as red as your scarf.”

“Shut up.”

“Is that how you speak to your king?” he teased, poking out his tongue.

“You might be my king, but you’re still my little brother.” he said, and gave him a friendly pat on the back, before once again looking at Rayla in the distance.

He saw how the elf gracefully jumped off her horse mid gallop, and Callum swore he felt his heart skip a beat. He had missed her so much, and now she was finally here again! After all these months, his best friend was finally back by his side. Life couldn’t be better.

She continued to run towards them with a happy smile on her face, only slowing down when there were a few feet left.

She didn’t say anything, but at this moment, silence was as good as words, because the emotions were what mattered. It was a reunion. As she approached them, Rayla immediately hugged Ezran first, and even though Callum would never admit it, he was a bit jealous as he heard his brother laugh while Rayla hugged him tight and ruffled his hair like she always used to do to tease the king those few years ago when he was ten and still a boy. It was like no time had passed at all.

“Ezran!”, she shouted, before deciding to tease him. “Or well,  _ king  _ Ezran, it’s so nice to see you again. You’ve grown a lot.” Rayla said as she ended the hug, smiling at the boy. “I’m sorry for missing your thirteenth birthday though.”

“Please, don’t call me king, we’re friends. And it's fine.” Ezran answered, laughing. “There’s always the next one in ten months, and I know you’ll be there, since you’re a  _ Katolan citizen _ from now on. It’s so good to have you back Rayla, we’ve really missed you. Life without you is pretty dull.”

Callum saw how Rayla just stood still for a second, like a shook, before her smile grew wider.

“Ezran your voice! It’s finally beginning to deepen, there’s already a small change. Man, I have really been gone for a long time, way too long if you ask me. Soon I can’t even call you a little kid anymore. I hope I haven’t missed your embarrassing voice crack phase.”

“I’m not a little kid, I’m a king. And for your information, my voice doesn’t crack.”

“Just because you’re a king, doesn’t mean you’re not a kid, you’re still only thirteen.” Rayla said, and then finally turned to the left, looking at Callum. He didn’t know why he had waited so anxiously for just this moment, but now it was happening. He felt his face redden as he looked at those lilac eyes of her that he knew by heart. He didn’t know why he was nervous, or why he had wanted Rayla’s reunion to Ezran to go by faster, even if it had only been about a minute. A part of him wanted to reunite with her as quickly as possible and dreaded the waiting, even if it was for such a short time. For some reason, every minute felt like one too much. He guessed he had really missed her more than he thought, after all, they were best friends, so he guessed this was how one was supposed to feel when they had really missed their best friend.

[ ](https://ibb.co/9tNGS6b)

Yes, that’s it. That’s why a part of him wanted Rayla all to himself. Friends missing friends can cause some weird feelings. But he shouldn’t be greedy, Rayla was finally back and wouldn’t disappear. She would live in the castle from now on, full time. He wouldn’t have to miss her anymore. They had all the time in the world to hang out and catch up after these months apart. And, it wasn’t like he was the only person that had missed her, so of course everyone should be able to greet her. Greetings were always the first thing that happened when someone returned.

As the prince stood there and thought about Rayla and how he had been a bit jealous (could you call it jealousy when it came to your best friend? Because that’s what the two were), he had become unaware that time continued to pass, and that the elf was trying to greet him. It was when he heard her say his name that he finally came back down onto the earth, a bit nervous.

  
“Hello, Katolis to Callum. Do you hear me?”

His cheeks turned warm like fire in embarrassment.

“Sorry, I, kinda zoned out.” he replied, which caused the elf to laugh, a sound that was so sweet, and Callum swore that if his cheeks weren’t already flushed, they would be now, even though he had no idea why. Her laugh was just so pretty and graceful, and he had missed it.

“Well, are you gonna stay there all day or do I get a hug before the next full moon?”

“Of course you do.” he answered, and before he could blink, he felt Rayla’s strong arms embracing him. It was a hug way more emotional than usual, but Callum didn’t mind at all. He had missed her for so long, so him almost being out of breath didn’t matter. All that did was that Rayla was finally back, and that he finally could hug her again, and just be near her at all.

[ ](https://ibb.co/zPMrQZV)

All of those feelings were hard to explain as they all seemed to tackle him at the same time. It was confusing, but in a good way.

“How was Xadia? And how was your trip back here? Was everything safe?” Callum then asked. He was curious about what Rayla had gone through. He hadn’t been to Xadia for almost two years, and since he really enjoyed the country, his curiosity peaked. He and Rayla had so many great memories from there, and they did vastly outweigh the few times both nearly died back in the day. Yes, some of the best and most important moments of their friendship came from their time in the land of magic.

Their hug ended, and as they parted, Rayla had that familiar smile on her face, while also shrugging.

  
“Xadia was nothing unusual. I travelled, visited friends and family, ate Runaan and Ethari’s moonberry surprise way more times than what is healthy, visited the adoraburr field and all that. Nothing important, but I’m glad you’re interested.”

“Rayla, you’re completely wrong when you say that Xadia is boring. It was the most interesting place I’ve ever visited. How can you just shrug it off that easily?”

“Well, I think it’s because I was born there. Even the people born by the most beautiful place in the world would soon see it as boring and normal since that is what they see daily. Xadia doesn’t have that charm to me like it does to you. It’s simply home to me, while you have only seen it as a visitor. But, I’m getting a bit sidetracked. You asked how the travel went, didn’t you?”

The prince nodded, and Ezran who stood beside him nodded too.

“I also really want to know how it went. Especially since the disaster of last time.” Ezran answered, and everyone shivered as they remembered all the angry mobs.

But then Rayla smiled once again and began to speak. 

“The travel went smooth as well, I only had  _ one _ near death experience instead of the usual four or five. Which means, only one human tried to shoot me down with an arrow instead of a small mob, you humans are really warming up to elves.” she said, jokingly. Callum could see the humor in it and laughed, since he too had been hunted a few times in Xadia, but a part of him was still mad that three whole years had went by, and there was still tension between the two species. After all, there was nothing wrong or dangerous about elves, everyone should know that.

But he did understand where the mentality came from, he himself had been raised by the bedtime stories that depicted elves as evil spirits of the night who feasted on human blood, and he had fully believed that as pure facts until he met Rayla that day when their lives changed forever. He still remembered the incident when he thought her moonberry juice was blood.

Man, if he and Ezran hadn’t met Rayla, both of them might have turned into just two more elf hating humans, who hated them just because they were  _ elves _ . Especially because of the war, and the fact that their dad would still have been killed, and probably Ezran too for the matter. Just the thought made him shiver, if he had been left alone after such an incident, he would be a completely different person, one that ran on rage, and that terrified him.

But thankfully that never happened, and Callum was a firm believer that everyone had a chance. Of course there were bad elves, there was no denying that, but there were also tons of bad humans. Being bad wasn’t exclusive to a single species, but was a choice every person made themselves.

“Well, I’m glad you’re alive and got here safely, and I’m sorry that people haven’t stopped being so stupid.” he said. “I wish more people could see beyond species. We’re not our ancestors, and the war is over. We’re equals.”

“I know, but there’ll always be stupid humans, stupid elves,  _ and _ stupid dragons stuck in the past. We’ll just have to do the best of it. Like I said, the low amount of people hunting me this time is lowering, and that is an improvement for me.  _ Especially _ since I’m gonna be living here now.”

“Don’t worry Rayla,” Ezran said, looking up as he smiled at her. “As king of Katolis, I’m going to make sure you’re safe and have a great time. You’re our ambassador yes, but you’ll always be our friend first, and I won’t tolerate people being mean or aggressive towards you, or any elf.”

Now, all three were smiling.

  
“This feels like the old times, all three of us back together at last. But this time, I’m an ambassador instead of an assassin, Callum is the royal advisor, and you Ezran, is a king. I kinda like it, I was a rubbish assassin after all.”

“Well, time might have passed and much have changed, but that’s a part of growing up. But, we’re all still friends.”

Callum gave both his brother and his friend a nod, yes, it felt so good now when the three of them were finally back together. He felt whole in a way, like the old times, but with the twist of aging. And he loved it. He turned his shoulder and then gave all his attention to Rayla as he spoke to her.

  
“Let’s get your stuff to your room, you’re carrying way too much, and you must be tired.”

“Tired is just the start. Once I’ve unpacked my stuff, I’m going to take a bath and then sleep for a full twenty hours.”

  
  


She settled in quite easily. When she arrived at the familiar chambers that she had used so many times before, she had just thrown all of her stuff into a large pile, being too tired to unpack even a single item. She would do that the following day, after all, she had all the time in the world, since this was now her permanent home. It was her own fault if her home was a mess, and she would fix it after a long night's sleep. Right now, she didn’t care how it looked, no one was going to enter her room and see it anyway.

And, her back, arms and legs, yes, her whole body ached too much to lift anything after all that time on horseback (she wished she could have taken a Xadian steed, but since Runaan and Ethari only had one after the incident in the Midnight Desert she had to leave it), if she had started packing away immediately, she would have either given up after a box or two, or she would have fainted while lifting. And neither of those things had sounded promising in her head. Especially as she was also feeling sleep deprived beyond elven terms.

So, all she had done was to change out of her dirty travel clothes, and into a freshly cleaned nightgown that the castle staff had neatly put on her bed. It smelled like a mix of flowers and clean linen, the staff had washed it for her and rinsed it in flower covered water. The first times she had slept here, that smell had been so strange, so fancy, and it had made her feel out of place in her “own” bed. But, she had quickly gotten used to the smell, and now she loved it. The slight scent of flowers on her pillow really made it clear that she was finally back, she was home. She had crawled into the warm sheets, and fell asleep in just a few mere seconds after she closed her eyelids. She was tired, and this was all her body craved, some sleep in an actual bed, warm and soft like this one. The rest could wait until tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is out!  
> I just want to remind everyone that this is a collaborative piece, and the artist that's making all the art for this fic is byghostface, not me.

She ended up sleeping a good fifteen hours, but, she was still up in time for breakfast. She had arrived at Katolis about three in the afternoon the following day, and had had been fast asleep at four, the strain on her body had taken its toll and given her a long period of relaxing, dreamless sleep that had given her body time to recharge. That made it seven in the morning.

Rayla had not really expected to be up this early, but it did make sense after going to bed that early in the afternoon. It had felt like she had gone to sleep past midnight after all the strain, and therefore expected to wake up by sunset, not sunrise. But, she wasn’t disappointed, the castle breakfast was one of the best meals she had ever eaten, it was like it was taken straight out of the stories about the heavenly gods, a meal only they could enjoy and not her. It was like a buffet of all the things she loved. Even in the beginning, it was the best meals she had ever eaten, but after a few weeks in the castle, Ezran had managed to get the chefs to learn how to cook authentic Xadian cuisine, and the meals had become even better. All the meals she had grown up with and loved, made by the talented castle chefs, the best chefs Katolis had to offer.

It was really like a dream to her, a regular elf who had grown up in a small village at the outskirts of Xadia, eating the cooking of Runaan and Ethari. It wasn’t that she disliked it, she loved it, even when Runaan would burn it more often than normal. But, as said, nothing could beat trying all these new foods she had never even heard about, mixed with all her childhood favorites. And all because one of her best friends wanted her to feel at home in a country inhabited by humans. She was one of the very first elves to have ever moved to Katolis.

It was strange, their first time she had set her foot in this castle, it had been with the order to kill the king and the crown prince, a then ten year old boy. Now, that boy was king, and had become one of her best friends. She was now a friend to the entire royal family, she was their Xadian ambassador, and she lived under their roof. She was so thankful she had reconsidered the moment she had Callum and Ezran at the mercy of her blade, because now when she knew them, she knew she would have regretted it for the rest of her life if she had killed them. And if she had, the war wouldn’t have ended, and countless of more people would have died in an unnecessary bloodshed. And she would never had gotten to know her best friends, and they would have never gotten the chance to grow up, a right she had almost taken away from them.

She thanked the gods every day for having been probably the worst assassin in Moonshadow history.

Rayla quickly dressed herself as she got out of bed, into one of her usual moonshadow garbs, a clean spare she had refused to wear just so that she could feel clean during the first day in the castle while her other garbs were in a long overdue wash with flowers. She was dressed in the common green colors, with a hint of black, but a new addition was the red and yellow jacket the royal brothers had gifted her. It didn’t match her attire that well, but it was a gift, so of course she wore it with pride. Her traditional elf wear mixed with human wear, another small sign of peace and unity that the citizens would notice wherever she went. 

She had quickly learned that even the smallest thing meant a lot when it came to diplomacy, and she believed it.

As she looked into one of the many mirrors the room had, she saw that her hair was a mess. She was too tired and way too hungry to spend any energy when it came to brushing it, so she quickly tied it up. It looked somewhat professional, and was atleast better than an unbrushed mane. Her hair would also not be in the way for breakfast, she hated it whenever she found strands of her own white hair in it anyway.

Yeah, that was good enough.

So, she quickly left her chambers without even making her bed.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Callum was taking a large chunk of some cold chicken, cut up a large piece of cheese from one of the wheels, and then took two still warm newly baked buns of bread, and put it all on his plate before he reached for some Xadian fruit. Ever since the peace with Xadia, they had a supply of it, and these exotic fruits had quickly grown on him, and had become his favorite part of the royal breakfast. He was practically starving, and was happy that there were so many things to choose from.

His brother’s plate didn’t look as varied as his own though. It was filled to the brink with fresh jelly tarts, and only jelly tarts. Atleast twenty of them.

  
“You know, for a king, you really have a childish taste in breakfast.” he teased, and Ezran immediately defended himself.

“Hey, my taste buds are fine.”

“Maybe, but your body sure isn’t. There’s no nutrition in these.”

  
“There’s plenty.”

“Not for a healthy diet, no. Atleast eat some fruit, and maybe a piece of meat too. You can get my chicken if you want to.”

“It’s fine, I’ll cut some up myself. But the jelly tarts are still the best part of breakfast, and always will be. It’s clearly superior to fruit.”

“It’s not, also, you have jelly tarts to every meal.”

Before his little brother could answer, Callum heard the chair beside him move, and suddenly Rayla sat beside him, giving him a smile. This was not what he had expected right now.

  
“Am I interrupting a brother moment?”

“No, not at all.” he said, glad to see her. “We just weren’t expecting to see you at breakfast, and for another couple of hours.”

  
“Callum, I went to sleep in the afternoon, I find it unlikely that I would have slept in when I already got fifteen hours in. And I’m glad I did get up, breakfast here is always amazing.” she said and then began to grab several items and put them on her plate. Chicken, sausages, eggs, fruit, jelly tarts, bread and cheese. It was not a breakfast, but a buffet meant for atleast three people. Callum would never be able to stomach half of that by himself even if he had been starving. “I’m so hungry, no more travel rations.”

“Even if you’re hungry, that is a mountain of food. How are you keeping all that down?”

“One of my many secrets. The castle food is too good to eat in small portions. Now, I’m gonna dig in. I haven’t eaten a proper meal in weeks. And no, I don’t count forest stew of random stuff I’ve found and cooked over a campfire as proper, not when compared to these meals, I’ve missed Katolan cheese, and your jelly tarts.”

As Rayla finished, she bit into a jelly tart, not the best thing to start with during breakfast, but Callum wouldn’t tell her off, unlike his brother, Rayla intended to eat of everything that was served instead of only sticking to the pastries. Seeing her eat also made him realize how hungry he was himself, so he took a bite into one of the many fruits Xadia had to offer. It looked like an orange apple, but the inside was a soft green and was juicy like a pear. The fruit had a sweet taste that was hard to explain, and was filled with these blueish black seeds. This had become one of his favorite fruits and he ate atleast one per day.

He soon finished the fruit, and then began to eat of the chicken and also took a few bites of the warm bread. Much better than the weapon graded bread he, Rayla and Ezran had been forced to eat on their way to Xadia. This bread was consumable without causing any loss of teeth, which was a huge improvement.

“So, why do you want to do today?” he asked between mouthfuls of food, looking at Rayla. She had just gotten back, so there must be so many things she would want to do, and she might have some trouble choosing what to start with. But he would obviously follow her no matter what she chose.

“I’m thinking just heading into town, enjoying the Katolis atmosphere, you know. It’s been so long and I really love just walking through the streets, seeing all the people. Oh, and to buy some trinkets.” Rayla answered, before taking a huge bite of cheese. She slowly chewed it, and Callum sat silent, waiting for her to finish. “Do you want to come with? You know the streets better than anyone, and I do not want another lost incident. Also, not to be rude, but less people scream slurs at me when I’m with you, so I don’t really want to go alone.”

Right.

Elf hate was still a thing.

Rayla often got harassed when she walked the streets, and Callum knew it. Name callings, threats, everything, all because she was an elf instead of a human. Like if that would make her any different than the majority of the people of Katolis. Elves were a minority, only a few hundreds had moved to the country, but more and more did arrive, and as their numbers grew, the elf hate became and even more urgent problem to get rid off. Especially now when Rayla has settled down here, more elves would surely follow. And, as many human and elf couples had formed, the very first half elves were also currently being born in the country. And they should all get the warm welcome they deserved, without prejudice.

Horns or no horns, four or five fingers, round or pointy ears, they were the same, and should be treated as such.

But except for the obviously sad truth that Callum had to get around with her to make it easier, he really did enjoy spending time with Rayla. The two of them were closer than anything, Callum had never felt so close to someone as he was with Rayla during his entire life. And if they had fun, the sad parts of Katolis would be something both thought less about.

He would never say no to spending time with her, so he obviously nodded.

“Of course I’ll come with you, I love spending time with you Rayla. We’re best friends.”

He swore his heart skipped a beat as he saw the smile forming on her face, even though he had no idea why it did. She looked so happy, and her purple marks and her almost glowing lilac eyes really put a shine on her smiling face that he couldn’t quite explain with words. And as he breathed in, he also realized he had been holding it for an unknown amount of time.

“Thank you Callum, I really appreciate that.”

Callum felt how his cheeks turned warm and red, so he quickly turned around, facing his little brother, who was still stuffing his face with jelly tarts.

“Hey Ez, do you want to come to?”

He shook his head.

“Sorry, I can’t. I have a meeting soon with three different shopkeepers, the ones that are fighting all the time, remember?”

“Oh right, I forgot.” Callum said before letting out a sad groan and touched his forehead. He was Ezran’s royal advisor, and this was a really important meeting. He couldn’t just skip it, no matter how much he want to spend time with Rayla. “Rayla, I’m sorry, I need to be there with Ezran.”

“No need Callum.” Ezran said. “Rayla’s been gone for so long, you two deserve to spend some time  _ alone together _ . You can go with her into town. I’ll get Opeli to cover for you, she’ll understand.”

Once again, Callum’s face lit up, excitement coming back.

“Really? Are you sure you don’t need me?”

“Positive, and that’s an order from your king.”

“Ezran, you’re the best.”

Oh how she had missed Katolis.

The beautiful scenery, the interesting town with cobblestone streets, filled with people going on about their day. Happy chatting was hear everywhere they went. Smoke coming out of the chimneys of the tiny town houses, and the cute dogs happily following their owners as they were going on about their day.

The smell of freshly baked goods came from the many bakeries and was constantly in the air, and merchants were at their stands, selling all types of stuff, from food to precious trinkets from all the human kingdoms, and some from Xadia as well.

Rayla and Callum had avoided the most crowded streets near the actual marketplace, since this time of day, they would get stuck in the massive crowds. Instead, they had walked through several allies, before returning to the big, but less crowded streets. They were often looked over, even though they had a bit of everything.

Callum had of course been the person that revealed all of that to Rayla. He knew were everything was, and how to get around the best way. She was thankful that the Katolan prince was her friend.

And when the first glares from passing strangers came, she was even more thankful for that. With Callum by her side, no one dared to go up to her and actually harass and scream at her, and instead settled for angry or dirty looks, and maybe a few whispers. It was awful, and Rayla despised it. She wanted to walk around and not have to worry about any prejudice, she wanted the people to just accept that she was an elf, and that she was just like them.

Though, she also believed she didn’t have the right to complain. The other elves living in Katolis had it far worse, they had no protection by constantly being close to a member of the royal family, and they didn’t live in the castle with a fancy title of ambassador. They just tried to live normal, honest lives as citizens in a place that didn’t really welcome them. And it hurt Rayla, that her people were treated like this. Even if there was a slight improvement since the war ended, it hadn’t improved fast enough. Not for her atleast.

“Rayla, are you listening?”

It was Callum who talked to her, and that snapped her out of her thoughts.

She blinked, and then nodded, and felt her cheeks turn warm in embarrassment. Who knew how long he had talked without her noticing?

“Yeah. Sorry, I zoned out.” she replied. “I just, got lost in thoughts as we kept walking around. There’s a lot to take in.”

Callum nodded.

“I understand. You must still be tired from traveling.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong there. Rayla’s body was aching after the intense journey, but this definitely wasn’t about that.

Not at all.

“Yeah, I am. But I was thinking more about… well, have you noticed all the dirty looks I’ve gotten just today?”

The prince nodded.

“Yeah, sadly, I’m so mad that people just can’t let go of their old prejudice. It’s so dumb! You don’t deserve any of the hate you’re getting, and neither does the other elves living here, at all.”

“Please, tell that to your country. No matter how many times you and Ezran tell them, it’s still there. I’m not blaming you or anything, I would never do that. I know it’s hard to change how the population thinks, especially after the heated wars that lasted over a thousand years, but it still hurts, you know. I really love Katolis, and am happy to call it my home, this is where I belong. I feel happy living here and being close to you and Ez. I just wish I could really feel welcomed. I thought it would get better after the war, especially in the last battle when human and elves did fight together to stop Viren. Well, it got better, much better, but not to the extent I or any elf wanted too. And it’s mostly the soldiers that were there and fought together with us that respects us, that has seen that we are the same.”

Callum immediately stopped in his tracks, and placed his hands on top of Rayla’s left shoulder, and next second, Rayla was looking into Callum’s green eyes. He had a serious yet caring look on his face.

“Rayla, don’t ever let anyone make you feel like you're not welcome here. You are, and nothing will ever change that, I promise you that. This is your home now. There will always be a place for you in Katolis, in the castle, you belong here with us, and we are so happy to have you here.”

She felt her cheeks become even hotter, and was now sure a deep shade of purplish red was covering her face. Callum’s words had really comforted her, and been exactly what she needed.

She went in for a hug, and never regretted it. She was so lucky to have such an amazing friend by her side, and never wanted the warm embrace of him to end. With him, she was calm, comforted. He truly was her best friend.

  
  
  
  
  
  


They spent the next couple of hours wandering up and down the streets. Rayla did her best to block out any stares passing humans might give her, and focused on spending time with Callum, as well as happily acknowledging any happy greetings or smiles any passing human or elf had given them.

It had made her mood much better.

During the hours, they had really caught up, and when lunch has arrived, they had eaten at a small, cozy inn at the city outskirts.

The food had been taken straight out of heaven, and she had made a mental note that added that inn as one of inns with the best food in Katolis. She was definitely coming back another day.

After that, they had gone to the outskirts of the marketplace, and had spent the last hour there. Rayla had bought herself a new black tunic, a dark gray one, a red and gold tunic (Katolis colors), a pair of new pants, and a simple dress that looked easily enough to move in. The last one had been Callum’s doing. The dress was of a lila tone, and he had told her it would match her eyes perfectly. So, why not? She was in need for more casual clothes anyway, since her old assassin gear wasn’t exactly the smartest choice to walk around in, town or castle.

“I’m sure you’ll look amazing in it.” Callum had told her with a smile, and she had smiled back.

“Thank you, but I’m not as confident. I’m a bit too pale for dark red, I really wish they sold more green.”

Yes, any color of green would be good. She was a moonshadow elf, and green and purple were her colors, though she preferred the greens. She didn’t want to give up her heritage, she was proud of it.

“I can get the tailor to make some for you if you want too.”

“No Callum, it’s fine. That’s way too much.”

“It’s no big deal Rayla.”

“But it is, that’s the royal tailor. I’m okay with the marketplace clothing, really.”

“Rayla, it’s fine.”

“Please.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

Rayla already knew she could expect some green garbs in her bedchamber before the week was over, even if she had told Callum no. She really appreciated all that, Callum was so sweet and kind, but she didn’t want him to suddenly feel like she was using him to get stuff. She wanted to be his friend, and not make it look like she was close to him just because he was a prince. Their friendship meant so much more to her than any material possessions ever could, but she was afraid the servants in the castle would get another idea.

They kept walking, and suddenly they passed by a merchant that stopped them. He was an old man, human, with a large beard, and he was selling necklaces with gems.

“My prince and his lady Rayla, what a surprise. It would be an honor if you would check out my jewelry.”

_ His lady Rayla _ .

That sentence caused both of them to turn a shade darker.

“We’re not…” Rayla began, before the an continued.

“We have rubies from the mines of Xadia, valuable emeralds, spinels, the ruby imposters, and so many more.”

Rayla took a few steps closer, and began to look through, without any intention of buying of course. She had no coins for that, but what was the harm in looking, especially if it pleased the merchant.

Her eyes immediately went towards a necklace with a silver chain, and a green gemstone glittering like nothing she had seen before. It looked so familiar, but she had no idea why. It comforted her, and she almost got lost in it. But she knew that this was the most beautiful gemstone she would ever lay her eyes on.

“Has the lady taken a liking towards the emerald from Del Bar? No surprise when the prince’s eyes are of that color, you have such a beautiful courtship.”

“We’re not… courting.”

Callum tried to buy her the necklace, but once again, she had refused. Receiving clothes for gifts was one thing, but gems? That was too much.

So, they had continued their trip through town.

But as they got back to the castle, and night came, Rayla went for a bath.

And once she came back, clean, there was an emerald necklace on her bed, with a note that read  _ “For a great friend.” _

She smiled.

“Oh Callum you dork, you didn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Social medias
> 
> My Tumblr: keiththeweirdo  
> You can find byghostface on Tumblr and Instagram at "byghostface", and on Twitter at "@byghostface_"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's the third chapter!
> 
> Once again, here's a reminder that any art seen in this piece of fiction is made by byghostface.
> 
> Also, this chapter will be a bit heavy, so you're prepared.

A few days had passed, and Callum couldn’t be happier. Rayla was back! She was actually back! His best friend.

And he enjoyed every second of it.

First it had felt like a sort of fever dream, a dream he was afraid he would wake from at any given second, proving that he was actually still at the castle, while she was in Xadia, so far away from Katolis,  _ from him _ . But so far, he hadn’t woken up from the dream, and hoped that it would stay like this. That this was actually the reality he had dreamed of. He had missed her way too much for her to just go away again, to be outside of his reach. He was finally getting used to her being beside him again, after all.

Seeing her face, her smile, and just talking to her.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t spoken during her trip, but that had been through letters, far to few and too long between. Even if they had kept contact, it wasn’t the same. You could never get enough written down on one, and it took away part of one's personality. He really prefered having her here, where they could speak about absolutely anything, any time they wanted, instead of having to wait several weeks for a response.

That didn’t make the letters less precious however, Callum had saved every one and put them in a box, organized by date. They meant a lot to him, their friendship was something else, he knew he would never find another friend like her.

He was currently sitting on his work desk in his chambers, quill in hand as he was writing a letter that was going to be sent to Lux Aurea, to Queen Janai and his aunt Amaya. They weren’t exactly official, not married, and refused to say they were courting, even though it was as clear as day, they lived together, and Amaya was always by Janai’s side, helping her rule. He wished the best for them though.

The letter from his aunt had arrived the day prior, and now, his response was almost finished.

As he was in the middle of a sentence, he dropped the quill in a scared surprise the moment he heard someone knock on his glass window, from the outside, when his chambers were high up in the tower.

Having grown up constantly fearing over assassination, he put his hand on his chest, feeling his heart skip a beat, and then turned around, and let out a ragged breath of relief. It was just Rayla.

That should have been a peculiar reaction, since his room was so high up, but he wasn't’ surprised when he saw her face through it. The elf was holding onto the stones and had clearly climbed up, and was now hanging by the window with one hand, while knocking with her free one, and then waved as she got his attention.

He immediately got up from his seat and walked over to the window to let her in. He did not want her to fall from holding on for too long, even if that probably wouldn’t happen. So, he opened the glass windows and pulled them inwards, and before he could step to the side, Rayla had gracefully jumped inside, feat hitting the ground with a thump.

“Finally, I was about to think you had died.” she said before stretching her arms. Callum also noted Rayla’s outfit. It was more civilian, the black tunic (and the emerald necklace), and there were no swords in sight. They usually were placed by her hips. “You should have been in the courtyard twenty minutes ago.”

“Did you climb up without using your swords?”

“Yeah?” she answered, and Callum saw how her ears slightly twitched in confusion. “Why do you ask?”

“You… climbed the the castle tower, made out of stone, without swords, using only your hands.”

He saw how she rolled her eyes. It was clear that he was stating the obvious to her, but he couldn’t let go of the fact that she had actually done it. It was impressive beyond words, and Callum should be glad that she was no longer an assassin.

“Yeah, I know. I was the one doing it.”

“HOW?!?”

“What do you mean? You said it before, I climbed.”

“That’s insane.”

“Not really. My feet got a few good grips, as a climbed upwards.”

“But, any human would have fallen down without a sword for stability.”

“Good thing I’m not a human then. It was a pretty easy climb.”

Silence.

  
“Remember me to never get on your bad side.”

Her laugh filled the air, and like before, Callum’s whole body began to feel warm and relaxed, hearing her laugh was like a sort of music. Feelings indescribable and confusing, but in a good way. For a moment, he even mistook it for… blooming romantic feelings? But, he knew that wasn’t true, these were just strong feelings for his best friend. This couldn’t be romantic, this felt nothing like the other times he had fallen in love in the past, this was so different. Stronger, happier, and more… fulfilling, but different. 

And different meant, obviously just friendship. He had been in love before and knew how that felt, but he had never had a close friend like that before, so he had just never felt what a close friendship was like before.

“Sure thing. Anyway, why did you take so long? You  _ did  _ promise to meet me in the courtyard after all. If you had showed up, I would have never had to climb up here in the first place.”

Oh, right.

“Sorry, I got caught. Amaya’s latest letter finally arrived so I’m answering it. I’m almost finished. I really miss her.”

“Ah, okay, I’ll wait. Tell her I said hi. Wow, this really reminds me that I need to send a letter to Runaan and Ethari.”

Rayla sat down on the spare chair beside Callum, and he saw how she opened the first drawer, where he had some of his sketchbooks.

To be fair, he had tons of drawers with sketchbooks from over the years, but that specific drawer had all the books he was willing to show other people, and Rayla knew that. She knew how much art meant to him, and how most books were his secretive, safe space. She would only ever look through the books he allowed her too. And now, to pass the time until he was finished, she would do just that.

He looked as she choose a book at random, one that he had filled around the age of sixteen, and then went back to writing the letter to his aunt, this time to the sound of pages turning from time to time.

And once he finally was ready, he neatly put the letter in an envelope and sealed it with the King, Ezran’s, official seal. He would deliver the letter to Crow Master later (Crow Lord seemed to never return from his vacation).

He finally turned his attention to Rayla, who was currently looking at a quick sketch of herself sitting under one of the oaks in the courtyard, with a book in her hand,  _ Love Amongst the Dragons _ . She had a slight smile on her face.

“I remember this.” she said, the excitement pitching up her voice slightly. “You, me and Ezran had played hide and seek on his day off, and after lunch we were all so tired. Then we had that picnic outside, and at the end I completely forgot you two were there because I began reading the book. Those were good times. It’s a great picture.”

Callum’s cheeks reddened at the compliment, his art had really developed these past few years, and felt proud whenever someone praised him. But this being Rayla, his best friend  _ and _ the person he had actually drawn, made this most more  _ intimate _ in some weird way. It meant more than any random critique. Rayla’s words were the most important, no matter what he drew, because he knew she would always be honest with him.

”Thanks, it’s nice that someone likes my drawings.”

“Why wouldn’t I like them? They’re incredible. You could be the next royal painter. Though, I’m a bit curious about why almost all the pages in this books is filled with sketches of me. Am I really that interesting to draw Callum? I’m quite honored. You have a secret crush on me or something?”

Okay, now beads of sweat were nervously forming on Callum’s forehead for a reason he couldn’t explain, and his hands were shaking. She was just teasing him, that was obvious, and they were only friends.

But why did his body tense up so badly when she had said that? It made no sense at all, yet he felt his heart beating all the way up in his throat, nervousness taking over. Was he really that easy to fluster? After all, it’s not like anyone had ever teased him like that in years. And back then it was just Soren teasing him about Claudia, which was totally different that a friend teasing him herself. Especially his best friend.

Yeah, this was just a normal reaction, nothing else. Especially since he was shy.

“Of c...course not. You… you’re just right… right when it comes to that… you’re… nice to d...draw. That’s it.” he said, doing his best not to stutter.

C’mon Callum, just breath. It’s fine.

He couldn’t make it awkward. Because what if Rayla believed he did like her. That could ruin their friendship, since she obviously didn’t like him. And he did not want the best friendship he would ever have in his entire life ended by something so trivial as a misunderstanding about love.

“You’re just a perfect model, and I really like drawing your ears and horns. That’s… it. Nothing else, you’re my best friend.”

“C’mon Callum, you know I’m only joking. You don’t have to be so embarrassed. Now, were we gonna go to the courtyard or not?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

FOUR DAYS LATER

He was sitting in the king’s office,  _ his own _ office, that had once been his father's. Ezran had a quill in his hand, carefully put it in the bottle of ink, and then carefully began to write down the words on the yellow parchment. Sentence after sentence, word after word, and soon, half of the parchment was filled with black ink in a badly written cursive. He might be a king, but Ezran was only thirteen. He could write perfectly, had been taught since he was little, but cursive was still new to the young king. He avoided writing in it unless it was an official letter to another kingdom, cursive was more official and serious.

He was writing a letter to Duren, he and queen Aanya were currently discussing official economic affairs between their kingdoms since Duren had been kind and imported some wheat to Katolis during the winter so that the people wouldn’t starve. In return, Ezran was going to send Duren gold. Boring, but important paperwork that had to be done.

The two countries had a long history of working together without any big disputes, and his goal was to keep it that way. Having allies was important, he wanted to keep peace between all the human kingdoms and Xadia, and by doing that, you needed compassion and kindness. The times right now were especially hard, peace between  _ all _ nations were new, and he couldn’t mess anything up, especially since every nation was still healing after the battle at the Storm Spire.

The king took a deep breath, and turned his head to the side, and looked out of the window for a few seconds. It was a nice day, blue sky, not a cloud in sight, and the leaves were a lush green, and he already new the air was fresh. He heard the sounds of horses galloping over the couple stone, and the crownsguards talking to each other. He longed to go outside, to spend some time with Callum, Rayla and Bait, but to do that, he had to finish the letter.

He wasn’t going to leave it half finished, he had a duty to the people. And the sun wouldn’t disappear either, it was noon, and it would certainly still be up when he was done.

He took a jelly tart from the plate in front of him, and ate it in two bites, before taking up the quill again.

He went back to his letter, and wrote a few more rows of gratitude, and then put down an amount of gold he thought would be good, but also added that he could send more if Aanya thought the amount was too small, and was also about to suggest alternatives to the gold if Duren needed something else, like firewood and furs.

But before he could finish, he heard a loud knock on his door, quick, stressful, and his two guards immediately gave him a look.

“You can open it.”

The guards did, and in came Soren, running, with his breath up in his throat. A few other crownsguards could be seen further down the corridors, Soren must have ran the entire way.

“Soren? Is something wrong?”

The man took a few deep breaths, and looked into his eyes, Ezran saw the worry in them.

Then, he spoke.

“In the town, there’s a riot! There’s atleast two hundred humans all screaming about elves, and some elves in town have even been attacked! They’re saying they don’t belong and that they’re gonna fight them out of the city if they have too! You have to come, before it gets worse. The guard is doing everything they can to calm the rioters and keeping our elven citizens safe, but we need the king to actually tell his own people to stop. We think that can stop them. Please Ezran, it’s horrible, I can’t stand seeing all of this, people are in danger. Just, I can’t believe I used to be like that either.”

Ezran had dropped his qull after the first sentence, staining his desk and garbs, but that didn’t matter. Like Soren said, this was serious. The elven citizens of Katolis were in danger because of humans with prejudices.

They were his people, he couldn’t let this go on.

“Quick, someone get Rayla and Callum, we’re gonna need them. And don’t even bother getting my horse from my stable. that’ll take to long. Every second matters. Can I sit behind you Soren?”

“Yes my king.”

“Come on.”

Rayla sat under the oak, happily laughing as Callum sat beside her, telling her another fun story from his and Ezran’s childhood. This one being about a hide and seek game that went on so long that their father had to call in the entire crownsguard to search since he couldn’t find them. A “typical” moment in the royal family.

“Really? The entire guard?”

He nodded.

“I know right? Several hundred of them, and no one guessed that me and Ezran were hiding inside of those suits of armor. I’m pretty sure that if they hadn’t found us in another hour, dad would have had issued an official search throughout the entire kingdom. But me and Ezran didn’t get why he was so worried, we were eight and four.”

“Yeah, I guess, but I still think your dad went a bit overboard. If I was eight and had been gone for four hours, no one would have thought about it. Even children as young as three spend a lot of the time in the forest, it would have taken atleast twelve hours of not seeing me for people to get mildly concerned, and about four more until there was a search.”

“That’s… mildly concerning. But if it’s normal for moonshadow elves I guess there’s a point to it. But you did have a normal childhood, and were raised in a different way. A royal child disappearing for longer than twenty minutes is usually a bad sign.”

“Guess you’re right there. I didn’t grow up near either humans or royalty. Silvergrove is actually a really safe place for kids.”

“Now when you mention Silvergrove, how’s the letter to Runaan and Ethari coming along?”

“I finished it yesterday, I’m gonna take it to Crow Master later today to get it sent, I know they’re dying to know how I’m doing and if I’m safe. I  _ have _ moved to a different country after all. And, they’re still a bit overprotective,  _ especially _ Runaan.”

Callum nodded.

  
“I guess you can’t really blame him though.”

Before anything else could be said, Rayla turned her head around as he heard several people running, crownsguards.

As she locked eyes with one of them, a black haired woman, she immediately shouted for their attention.

“Prince Callum, lady Rayla, the king has ordered you to follow into town. There’s a riot with humans harassing elves, there’s no time to lose!”

She felt how her entire body froze into place, and felt the shiver run down her spine. A riot, elves being hurt. No time to lose. This was bad, she could feel it. It was like a boulder was now hanging from her shoulders, and her ears began to ring.

She was stuck, and it felt like an eternity, even though it was five seconds at most, before she broke free from it and jumped up. Her hands instinctively felt for her swords by her hips, and it wasn’t until she felt the soft fabric of her tunic that she realized that the swords weren’t there, and hadn’t been in a long time. The area felt empty without them now, and her mind screamed to get them, but she wouldn’t

They didn’t have the time for her to run up to her chambers and get them, she would have to do without them.

Callum was still sitting, so she took his hand and quickly dragged him upwards. They looked into each other’s eyes, and nodded.

Then, they ran.

She could barely remember how she had gotten onto her horse. Well, of course she had obviously gotten onto it and then galloped, but it had all happened so fast, her body had done it out of pure instinct and had forgotten about the details. One second she was in the courtyard with Callum, the next she was raising towards the town along with him, Ezran and the crownsguards, wind hitting her face while making her hair fly. Her heart was beating quickly, like it did whenever she had to fight off dangerous animals in the forest, and this huge knot in her stomach only grew. She was afraid of what she would see once they were actually there.

She didn’t know for how long it took, it felt like both an eternity and less than a second when they finally arrived, galloping through the cobblestone streets towards the commotion. She heard shouting, so much shouting. Accusations, slurs and threats, all of it at once.

And then they got there, the marketplace.

Even if she tried, she would never be able to count how many humans were there, it was crowded, and many moved around and was forced back by the guards while everyone were screaming. There was a group of elves, about fifty, who were surrounded by guards to protect them, and humans tried to get closer and screamed.

Rayla immediately locked eyes with an earthblood elf, she was being embraced by a human man, and in her arms were a tiny baby with round ears and huge antler like horns, it was crying. She saw the distress in her eyes, the fear, as her husband tried to comfort her all while the screaming continued. This was far from okay, and the humans there sickened her.

The way they acted, it was so wrong, like they were entitled to everything while elves didn’t even deserve scraps, not even deserving to breathe the same air. It was pure prejudice and bigotry, the very thing she worked so hard to erase. This was so much worse than the dirty looks or stray comments she got on the street, this was  _ horrifying _ . She realized how  _ lucky _ she had been, because compared to this, her own experienced were mild. And that was the worst part of it.

This was so…

So wrong…

And...

“ENOUGH!”

It wasn’t until all the eyes were on her and the market become silent that she realized that she was the one that had screamed, her own voice sounded wrong, it was shaking as she had used all her power to get everyone’s attention. She had done it without thinking, it had just been too much for her to watch. Every part of her body had told her to stop it, without thinking twice.

Before anyone else could say a thing, Ezran and Soren rode in and took over, head up high and an angry look in his eyes, his crown sparkling as the sun’s ray hit it. He may still be a child, but the way it looked screamed authority, even if he was sitting in front of the same horse Soren was on. If anyone could fix it, it was him, the subjects were loyal to him.

“What exactly is the meaning of this? Tell me!”

Countless of voices began to speak at once.

“One at a time! I can’t hear anything.” he said, and then pointed at a man close to him. “You, tell me what this is about.”

“My king, we are just doing the right thing, these elves are destroying our country and have to pay for it!”

Another human spoke up, and another.

“Yes, they don’t belong here!”

“They will go to war when we least expect it, you can’t trust an elf!”

“Elves are evil!”

“We don’t mix with those creatures!”

  
“Get them out of here before it’s too late and the street gets filled with half elves! Humans are gonna die out!”

The comments continued, and Rayla could feel her blood boil as she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Her being mad was an understatement. But she couldn’t do much, if she screamed the wrong things, this could turn into even more of a disaster since she was moonshadow.

“Silence!” Ezran screamed, and thankfully, his people listened. Apparently their loyalty to the king was bigger than their hate for elves. “What you are doing is wrong! I will  _ never _ accept things like this! These elves are katolan citizens too and have the same rights as everyone else! I won’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, any fool language or threats! They belong here, and they are not leaving! Many of you weren’t there, but as you know, I have been to Xadia several times! I have worked closely with elves, one of my best friends is an elf! We are more close than you might imagine, we are the  _ same _ ! They are kind, noble and smart! And as long as I am your king, you are not going to get away with harassing my people!”

The uneasy feeling in Rayla’s stomach became just a bit less unbearable as she heard Ezran, her friend, speak to his people, about her kind. She wished more people were like Ezran, to be able to accept change and move on from the past, without having to literally fight in a battle alongside each other to accept them.

But, that feeling only stayed for a few seconds, before another human spoke up.

“My king, you clearly can’t see it, but that moonshadow has clearly put you under a spell, there’s no way you would actually think that! Especially since her kind killed your father!”

The feeling was back, worse.

She still blamed herself for the death of king Harrow, and a part of her always told her that deep down, both Callum and Ezran hated her for it, even if they said that it wasn’t her fault, and that they had forgiven her team of assassins. Still, whenever it was mentioned, her whole body became numb as she was filled with grief. She was part of a group that was responsible in making two boys, her two closest friends, into orphans.

The tears were beginning to form in her eyes, if this kept up, she would be crying in a minute.

“THAT IS NOT TRUE!”

It was Callum, his voice echoing through the town.

“Rayla has not put any of us under a spell! She can’t do that kind of magic, and even if she could, she would  _ never _ abuse it like that She is the most amazing person I and Ezran know, human or elf! She is kind and amazing and has helped us through tough times, she was there when we prevented a  _ war _ ! She was there when we brought peace to the nations! She has saved both mine and king Ezran’s lives several times! She would  _ never _ do anything to harm anyone! Saying that just because she’s an elf is wrong! Me and my brother trust her with our lives!”

Rayla almost had a smile on her face as Callum spoke so kindly about her, but sadly, that moment wouldn’t last either.

“False! You’re just saying that because you’re courting her!”

“Courting a disgusting elf!”

“This royal family is corrupted and falling apart! That elf is destroying it from the inside!”

“She’s just doing it for power, courting that human prince!”

“He’s not really a prince, we all know that once they’re married she will kill the king to rule Katolis!”

“A human courting an elf is wrong!”

“She is evil and will stab everyone in the back!”

“We can all tell she’s faking being in love! Elves can’t love, especially not humans!”

“The royal family is saying propaganda just because they don’t want us to see this scandalous courtship for what it is!”

“That elf will destroy our country!”

After hearing all that, Rayla just shut her senses off. She was shaking, and the salty tears were running down her cheeks.

Everyone hated her, they thought she was courting her best friend, and that she did it to kill him in the end. That she was going to destroy everyone.

Everything turned into a blur, more screaming, and more crownsguards.

The next thing she remembered clearly was riding her horse back to the castle, after about an hour and a lot of arrests, Ezran and Callum had managed to get the riot to stop, and had gotten the elves to a secure location, while Rayla had just been there, not remembering a single thing except those hateful words used against her.

They hated her and accused her of lies, just because her best friend was the human prince.

Maybe this wasn’t her home after all? She loved it here, and loved being near Callum, but maybe the world wasn’t ready for a pair of friends like then?

Maybe it would never be, right now, it felt like it.

And the fact that everyone brought up the “courtship” between them made it even worse, because right now, her feelings had already been confused enough. Was it love? Was it friendship? She was still figuring it out, and now it made her terrified. Especially since hearing the humans saying it, made her realize.

Because if it was love, Callum would obviously not want to court her, now that he had seen what loving her would look like.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter four!  
> The drawing for this chapter is made by byghostface.

It had been three weeks since the riot.

Ever since then, Rayla had not been the same, and that bothered Callum. Her usual smile and happiness was gone, like it had been blown away with the wind. They spent less and less time together, the elf often isolating herself in her chambers, not even going outside to eat. Instead, she snuck into the kitchen at night and gathered food that she took back to herself.

Often when he knocked on her door, he got no answer. When he got one, it was usually a “go away” or a “I don’t feel so good.”

And the times she actually let him in, they just talked, everything felt forced and wrong, and had an underlying layer of tension to it. And the few times he had gotten her to laugh and be happy, it still felt wrong, like it wasn’t really true. Yes, even her beautiful laughs and giggles had a hint of tension in it, something was definitely wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what, and he wasn’t going to straight up ask her in case that made it worse.

Rayla was his best friend, and he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable around him. But that was definitely what was happening, he saw how she tensed around him, how it took her several seconds to answer, how she had stopped chatting happily and giving him hugs and funny pats on the back. All that was gone, and she acted like she had done the first few days they had known each other, before they had become friends. Back when they were returning Zym’s egg to Xadia.

It felt like their years of friendship had become undone, and it hurt the prince so much. Rayla was his first true friend that wasn’t part of his family. the one person that had believed in him when no one else did, not even himself. She had been the one that made him realize that he had a purpose in life, she had made him realize that magic was his calling. She had supported him in so many ways.

Suddenly losing a friend like that was terrifying, and he didn’t know if he was strong enough for it.

She was too important, he liked her too much.

He  _ loved _ her.

He had been an idiot, he had loved her for years, but had been too dumb to realize what it was. And now, he knew his time to ask her to court was too late, it would never happen. If he had only realized it sooner, and not during the damn riot. He hated himself for finding during that moment of all times.

Because yes, it was then he actually realized that his feelings were more than platonic, when humans were screaming slurs about her and that she was “courting” him for her own personal gains.

He knew that obviously wasn’t the truth, but the citizens didn’t know that. They didn’t know Rayla like he did. And now everything might be too late.

He was sure the riot was what had caused their rift. And he didn’t know what to do about it, especially now when the rumors of them courting was now seen as the truth all over Katolis. Courting someone was a personal thing, and having lies spread about you was terrible. But this was  _ beyond _ that. Callum was a prince, everyone knew who he was. And now Rayla was there on the receiving end.

No wonder she didn’t want to talk to him, if the roles were reversed, he knew he would panic.

But he couldn’t bear the thought of losing his best friend over something like this, over rumors. He loved her too much, she did not deserve any of this.

And even if she didn’t love him back, he wanted her to know that he would always be there for her, as a friend and support her through anything. Because he would never leave her, she meant so much to him.

Callum took a deep breath, he was currently walking through the corridors, on his way to Rayla’s chambers. He really wanted to just talk about this, to not dance around the subject any longer. He wanted his friend back, and he wanted to clear out any misunderstandings, because seeing Rayla like this was like torture to him.

The moment he knocked on her door, he prayed that she would answer. And thankfully, she did.

  
“Who is it?”

Her voice was tired and strained, and with just those three words, he could tell something was wrong.

“It’s me.” he said awkwardly, not knowing how to continue. “Can I come in?”

Silence.

Five seconds passed, then ten.

“If you want too.”

For a second, Callum stood still, unsure in himself, before he touched the handle, opened the door, and walked inside.

The room was dark, Rayla hadn’t lit any of the candles to get some light, and she sat by the window, looking out over the courtyard that was so many stories down from the tower. Her hair was messy, unbrushed, and she didn’t even turn around to look at him. The feeling in his stomach got worse and he walked towards her, not knowing how to progress. Should he just stand? Sit down beside her? How close was too close? What was making her uncomfortable?

He just ended up walking forward and stood still in the middle of the room, his heart beating fast, praying that he wouldn’t say the wrong thing. He just wanted his friend back, and didn’t want to see her like this.

“Can we talk?”

She finally turned around, her lilac eyes met his gaze, but they were different. The joy and sparks in them were gone, they looked blank, and her face was looking puffy and red, like it did after a long cry. Just thinking about how that was probably what happened felt wrong to Callum, Rayla didn’t deserve this.

She tried to give him a small faked smile.

“Sure, about what?”

“I wanna know how you are feeling, how you are… really feeling. Ever since… you know, you’ve acted differently. I understand why, but I don’t want to just sit there while my best friend is feeling bad. I wanna talk, and I want to know if there’s a way I can help. You’re my best friend Rayla.”

“I think that’s the problem.”

“What?”

She nodded.

“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious when you think about it. Me being so close to you was one of the major factors that the riot even started. Everyone here obviously hates me, and now obviously hates you, because they think we’re courting. If we weren’t so close, people would have never gotten that idea, and that way you wouldn’t have gotten harassed like that by your own people. Now you’ve gotten the rumor of loving and elf, which they obviously hates. I’m destroying your life.”

Callum didn’t even know where to start.

Hearing her say that… hurt, on so many different levels.

“Rayla… you’re not destroying my life. Far from it, you’ve only made it better. Ever since I met you. I would never want a life without you ever again. I don’t care what the others think, you’re my friends. They are the ones that are wrong and are filled with prejudice. I’m not going to listen to them, and I don’t want our friendship to be ruined because of them, you mean way too much to me.”

  
“But… they all hate me, and if they hate me, they hate you.”

“I don’t care about that, or what the kingdom thinks of me. They don’t know me, and they don’t know you. But we know each other, and that’s the important part. I don’t care about the citizens, you mean way too much to me, being your friend is worth so much more than their approval. For all I care, everyone could hate me. I would rather be happy with my friend and hated by the people for it, than loved by the people if that meant losing you. I don’t want you to feel sad, unloved, or in the way because of them. Please Rayla, never think of yourself that way again.”

Callum felt how his eyes began to water, and saw that Rayla’s was too. She looked at him, still unsure, confused, and her arms were shaking as she kept sitting down.

“Of all people in Katolis, why me? Why am I your friend and not anyone else? You could get anyone to be your friend.”

“I don’t want anyone but you Rayla. You’re not someone I can just replace, you mean way too much for me. No one will ever take your place, no one. You are my closest friend, and always will be. You mean more than the world to me, Rayla. If it was a choice, I’d choose you over and over again.”

More silence.

“I feel the same Callum, you mean so much to me, more than you would ever understand, more than you would ever want too. But why do I mean so much too you? Why me of all people? I’m not worth it.”

“Rayla, you are worth it. And no, I doubt I mean more to you than you mean to me. I know this is the absolutely worst time ever to have this conversation, but I love you Rayla. I really love you, so much, more than anything. That’s why it hurts so much to see how people treat you, that’s why it hurts so much to see you doubt that I like you, that I don’t care. I do care Rayla, so much. I know you don’t love me back, and that’s fine, I just want my friend back, I can’t lose you to something like this. You mean the world to me.” he said. Rayla was quite, looked at him without saying a thing, but she had stopped shaking. “I’m sorry if I’ve made things weird, but hearing you say that you obviously cared for me more than I cared for you, to hear you say that I shouldn’t care about you, I couldn’t hear it, you had to know. So, please, can we still be friends? And just don’t care about everyone else? I miss hanging out with you.”

“You… you love me?”

“Yeah, I do. Now when I hear you ask, I realize this was definitely the wrong time to tell you, I’ve made it weird, haven’t I? I just didn’t want to hear you talk down about yourself anymore.”

“No… it’s not weird. It’s just… why me of all people? It would have been so much easier for you to just fall in love with a human. Anyone would have been easier than me, whoever he, or she, or they would be. So, why me?”

“Why not you? When I think about it… I can’t picture these feelings from someone other than you Rayla. You’re my best friend, and I love everything about you. When I think about it, I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you since before getting to the Storm Spire, but I just never realized what those feelings were until recently.”

“But I’m an elf.”

“So, what? I don’t care about that, I love you for you, species has nothing to do with it. What is relevant though, is that you don’t love me, and I accept that. I still wanna be your friend, and don’t want things to get weird between us for this.”

Silence.

Then, Rayla got up, and walked closer. She towered over him, being much taller, but she looked down, and Callum gazed into her lilac eyes. Her eyes were still watery, but he saw a shy smile grew on her face.

“Callum, who told you I didn’t love you back? You dumb idiot, I’ve loved you since the Storm Spire too, but like you, I was too dumb to realize. After the riot, I did. I realized what I was feeling was not platonic feelings for a guy I shared an amazing friendship with, but that I loved you. And that scared me.”

“It, scared you?”

He saw how she nodded.

“Yeah, I was afraid that if you ever loved me back, that I would get your life destroyed. You heard what everyone said about us courting. I didn’t want your reputation and life to be bad because of me. So I thought that it would be best to just isolate myself. That way, my feelings could go away, and you would find another best friend. That way, you would have a happy life, and I could return to Xadia. I tried to do what was best for you, but now I realize I was stupid. I should have just talked to you about this. But I guess I was like you, scared that bringing this up would destroy our friendship.”

“Rayla, us drifting apart and you leaving would have been terrible. I never want that to happen.”

She took his hand, and he saw how tears began to stream down her face as she began to laugh.

“I won’t, I promise. It’s just… wow. We’ve both been idiots.”

“We have, haven’t we? Big oblivious idiots.” he answered, leaning a bit closer. “What do you say about... you know, since we’ve both confessed, not be idiots any longer and try to be together? Without letting what others think come between us?”

“I’d… really like that.” she said. “Does this mean… can I, well… kiss you?”

Callum pulled her closer, he closed his eyes, and their lips pressed together. The kiss was only a few seconds long, but it said so much, all the tension and misunderstandings were gone, and for the first time in a while everything just felt right.

  
  


[](https://ibb.co/THmnPcs)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue time!
> 
> This thing was a blast to write, and so much fun, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

“So, you want purple and green as the color scheme? Really?” Rayla asked as she sat on the edge of the castle roof, feet dingling free, the ground several stories below her and Callum, and gave him a playful smile. “Instead of the usual katolan red and gold? Wow, that is  _ brave _ and interesting, I wonder who could have influenced that. Perhaps a certain, amazing moonshadow elf?”

Callum couldn’t help but let out a laugh as he listened to his girlfriend, and then took her hand in his.

“Well it is  _ my _ birthday that I’m planning, so I should be able to pick the colors. Ezran already used red and gold for his birthday anyway. It would be boring if all of our events used it, don’t you think? As an artist, I’m all for trying out different color schemes.”

“And they just happened to be the moonshadow colors?”

“Shut up.”

“Never.”

Rayla poked her tongue out and playfully hit Callum on the shoulder, which caused to prince to laugh again. Rayla was so pretty when she acted like this. She was so cute and playful, her laugh was like a song, and she looked beautiful as the sun’s rays shining over her made her white hair glitter, and her emerald necklace he had gifted her was around her neck.

He was the luckiest person in all of Xadia and the humans kingdoms, Rayla was the most amazing person he had ever met, and he was still in a disbelief that they were  _ together _ , even if it had been three weeks since their confession already.

Three weeks ago, their relationship almost hit rock bottom because of misunderstandings, and now they were here, as a couple, planning Callum’s birthday party together. Next week, he was turning 18, and two weeks after that, Rayla was turning 19. She had decided against a big royal celebration, even though Callum and Ezran had told her that they could give her one if she wanted too.

Her exact words had been “Never. I’d rather never see an adoraburr again”, which to be fair, was a normal reaction to someone not used to an entire country celebrating your birth.

The two kept talking, brainstorming ideas about the food and music to be played while they stared down at the courtyard, hands intertwined, Rayla’s four fingered one fitting perfectly in Callum’s one.

“You think goat cheese would go that well with Xadian whiteberries? Try the cheese with some nearly ripe thornfruits instead. Much better flavor combination.”

“But the thorns hurt when you try to get the skin off.”

“That’s why they’re called thornfruits you dummy. The name wouldn’t make sense if it, you know, didn’t have thorns. You could try apple berries instead, if you want it Xadian, otherwise you could try grapes and dried cranberries. And, you got to add moonberry surprise to the dessert menu.”

“I still don’t know the ingredients to that one.”

“That’s because it’s a surprise.”

“But how will the chefs make it?”

“That’s… actually a good point. Scratch that. For next year, I’ll get Runaan to hand out the secret recipe.”

“I’d love that.”

Callum would definitely write to Runaan in secret this night. If he was lucky and the letter was delivered quickly enough, he could get the recipe for  _ Rayla’s  _ birthday and surprise her. He knew she would love that.

The two kept chatting, spending about another half an hour on the planning, Callum writing down everything they said said on a piece of parchment. He would give it to Opeli when he saw her at dinner, and then she would do the rest.

Right now, the two still had hours until that. So much free time, with little to do at the castle.

“Do you wanna head into town?”

It was Rayla who asked, no fear or doubt in her voice. Just confidence and happiness, it was clear that she didn’t care about what any human passing by would think, of her and if  _ them _ . 

Not anymore.

And Callum didn’t either.

He was himself, and Rayla was Rayla. They were two people in love, nothing special. One just happened to be an elf, while the other was human. They didn’t care about the others, their relationship was about  _ them _ , and no one else had a say in it.

He really loved Rayla, and wasn’t going to let any strangers get in the way of it anymore, they had the right to express their feelings for one another freely.

And town sounded amazing. There was a lot to do there, so many activities, so many trinket stands (he was definitely buying Rayla a gift, even if she didn’t want too), and he hadn’t been there for several weeks. It would be a fun date, just them.

So, the prince nodded, and tightened the grip around her hand.

“Town sounds great. Just you and me.”

He heard how Rayla let out a giggle, and then, their lips pressed together in a quick kiss.

“I love you, you big dummy.” she said as they parted, the smile on her face wider than ever. “Let’s go.”

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Social medias
> 
> My Tumblr: keiththeweirdo  
> You can find byghostface on Tumblr and Instagram at "byghostface", and on Twitter at "@byghostface_"


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